The Early Days

I got my foot in the door of broadcasting at an all news radio station in Washington, D.C. One of my good friends and co-workers did all kinds of humorous voices and had a contract to do the radio commercials for the Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise. His most popular voice was that of a fiesty old lady. The Joy Boys, on another popular Washington, D.C. station, were sponsored by Col. Sanders Kentucky Fried Chicken, among other advertisers, so every Friday night my friend and I would take a huge bucket of fried chicken to their radio studio. We'd watch them in the booth and on their breaks we'd sit around together eating chicken and laughing. The Joy Boys were Ed Walker, who was blind from birth, and Willard Scott. Yes, THE Willard Scott. It was fascinating to watch the two of them work together. Talk about funny. They had us rolling on the floor. Ed's fingers flew over the braille as he read commercial copy. Willard Scott was as nice off the air eating a chicken leg as he was on the air. And just as funny, too. By the way, did you know that several years ago, Willard Scott wrote a few humorous mysteries set in Northern Virginia? Look for them on Amazon. They're entertaining reading.

There was an interesting on-air personality at the all news station named Alexander Cabot. What a voice he had. It reverberated from somewhere deep in his diaphragm and was as rich and smooth as creamy dark chocolate. I'd been working there for a few weeks before I actually met him. Turns out his real name was Syd Slappy and he reminded me of Santa Claus with suspenders. But, you know, even after I knew what he really looked like, I continued to picture Alexander Cabot as tall, dark and handsome...and, for some reason, wearing a tuxedo.

I'll end with a book update. I'm on Chapter 15 of Leaving for Christmas, a story about a widow and her two little girls, a small town church with a serious problem and a solitary fur trapper who has a surprising impact on all their lives. The story revolves around warm characters who meet adversity with humor and who believe that every kindness no matter how small will one day be rewarded...often in unexpected ways.